Atlanta United had a field day on social media after they booted David Beckham’s Inter Miami out of the playoffs, causing quite the stir on Saturday night. Lionel Messi and his teammates at Miami were left in dismay as their MLS campaign was halted by an unexpected defeat to Atlanta.
Despite finishing the regular season as Eastern Conference leaders with a record-breaking points haul to clinch the Supporters Shield, their dreams were dashed abruptly. Atlanta, who scraped into the quarter-finals via a penalty shootout win over Montreal after ending 9th in the conference, overturned a first-leg deficit against Miami.
The initial match saw Miami take the lead with goals from ex-Barcelona aces Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, seemingly setting them on a path to the semi-finals. But Atlanta snapped Miami’s 10-game unbeaten streak last Saturday, with Xande Silva netting a dramatic late goal to secure a 2-1 comeback victory.
Then, in a nail-biting decider, Atlanta pulled off another shocker by triumphing 3-2 on Miami’s turf. Reveling in the upset, Atlanta’s digital team took to platform X to mock the glitzy Miami squad.
They cheekily edited a snippet from Beckham’s documentary, where he interrupts Victoria discussing her childhood, to reflect Miami’s downfall. The revised clip featured her words altered to echo Miami’s crushed hopes, starting with the boastful claim: “We’re the best in the MLS”.
In Beckham’s response, Atlanta cheekily asked “Be honest”. In response to which, Victoria Beckham said: “I am being honest,” before David gently teased her with: “What team has beat you multiple times? ” A tweaked image of Victoria then shows her seemingly replying with a sulky face: “Atlanta United”.
Matias Rojas opened the scoring for Miami at the 17-minute mark but was quickly overtaken by Atlanta with a double-whammy from Jamal Thiare before the break, despite Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez’s efforts being quashed by Brad Guzan’s top-notch goalkeeping.
Atlanta United upset the odds to defeat Inter Miami (
Image:
AP)
A header from Suarez also tested him, until Messi ultimately headed in an equaliser. The match hit a fever pitch when Guzan wound up in the back of the net while trying to get the game going again post-goal, leading to Suarez teasing the fuming goalie.
Then, amidst a storm of controversy and Miami’s distractions over an injured player, Atlanta nabbed their winner thanks to Bartosz Silsz capitalising on the disordered Miami defence and Pedro Amador’s assist.
Atlanta managed to withstand the late onslaught, with a goal-line clearance and Guzan denying Suarez in the final moments of the match. Miami are now preparing for this summer’s Club World Cup, following a contentious decision by FIFA.
The governing body decided that winning the Supporters Shield was sufficient reason for Messi’s team to participate in the tournament.
